Everyone has an idea of what is a cemetery, but the term "cemetery" itself is vague, at best, as is the entire conception of what should be done with human remains. This guide will focus on current legal concepts here in Louisiana.
Francis Norton 2018
Most people have a mental image of a cemetery: a creepy place with a lot of headstones, often isolated, where dead people are buried. And, in New Orleans, the graves are always above the ground.
In Louisiana, a "cemetery" means a place used or intended to be used for the interment of the human dead. It includes a burial park, for earth interments; or a mausoleum, for vault or crypt interments; or a columbarium, or scattering garden, for cinerary interments; or a combination of one or more of these. (R.S. 8:1 (7))
It’s complicated. All across the United States of America, laws regarding cemeteries, burials, and funerals are complex and diverse. These laws are often haphazardly spread out across an individual state’s code. Louisiana is no exception. But why?
Traditionally, Europe had civil courts and ecclesiastical (church) courts. The care of the dead was the concern of the church, and not of the civil government. This dichotomy was brought to the New World by the European settlers. But, since many of the colonists had broken from the Anglican Church, they were free to set up a smorgasbord of customs and practices. In New Orleans, the Catholic Church was still honored, but similar problems arose.
During the nineteenth century, growing cities needed space, and established church and private cemeteries often had to make way for development. Government authorities handled these matters in an uneven manner. In the twentieth century, church involvement diminished, and death and funerals became a regular business. Only then did legislatures begin drafting more affirmative laws as the inevitable issues arose.
